GLEE-NSPIRATION

As you probably know I am a self-confessed sitcom addict and one of my addictions, naturally… is Glee.

One of the latest episodes (for those who follow it on the American schedule) was inspired on the queen of controversial electro-pop Lady Gaga and her totally in your face, kick ass song ‘Born This Way’

Now, just like Gaga, Glee has many hardcore fans but also some seriously harsh critics, I myself am a big fan of both. I don’t get why people diss on Glee so much when most of their episodes usually tackle an important issue in high school youth, of course it’s slightly more dramatic and artistic on Glee but it doesn’t change the fact that they are shinning a light on issues like bullying, racism, stereotypes, dealing with homosexuality and homophobia and in this last one self acceptance and appreciation.

The Born This Way episode really hit a spot with me because it focused on those things that we all wish we could change and learning to accept that, which is something that I have been struggling with lately. I’m not talking about physical things here but those things we can’t see. Sure, when I was growing up I really wanted a nose job (thankfully it never happened) and I will probably never stop trying to shift those few extra kilos I haven’t ever been able to get rid of, but the real thing I wish I could change about me is the lack of belief I have in myself.

I’m good at a lot of things and unfortunately self-doubt and sabotage seem to be on that list. I can do so many great things and when I put my energy into it and go the extra mile I always get results I feel proud of, the problem is actually starting the things I need to do because my fear of failure is so big that I just get this recurring voice in my head that says ‘you can’t pull this off’ or ‘you’re not good enough for this’, I guess I just feel that if I don’t try I can’t fail but what ‘Born This Way’ (both song and episode) has made me see is that if I don’t try I can’t succeed either. My t-shirt would say SELF DOUBTER... although I think I'm ready to believe in myself a little more now.

Until next time… Smooches to all! xXx

Bring it on 26!

As you may or may not know it was recently my birthday and since I think everybody should have a birthday post, here is mine… better late than never!

All the reasons I loved being 25:

* I celebrated 25 in a theme park: Thorpe Park in company of friends

* I saw Grease: The Musical in London’s West End

* I moved to London and had my first real Media job and made great friends

* I added another Eeyore to my collection thanks to BFF Jayne

* I moved back home and spent more time with family

* I planned a wedding and became someone else’s Bridezilla

* I saw my brother get married and gained a sister (in law)

* I had an amazing week in Cancun with BFF Hattie

* I saw one of the 7 world wonders, The Chichen Itza, and swam in a cenote

* I went on my first cruise with BFF Mibi and made some new friends

* I met… THE BACKSTREET BOYS

* I went to my first Cirque du Soleil show: Nouba

* I spent a family Christmas in Orlando with the Maune-Huerta fam

* I had 3 theme park days in the US with virtually no queuing

* I went to Hogwarts and conquered the dragons (front row)

* I went to my 5^th BSB concert with BFF Joselyn

* I finally got that Mario Hernandez bag I’ve always wanted

* I got to spend time with almost all my BFFs around the world, the ones in the UK, the ones in Caracas and the ones in Maracaibo (you know who you are)

Some of the reasons I will love being 26:

* I got to celebrate my bday with a weekend in Isla San Andres, Colombia

* I am actually acting on my new years resolutions (first time ever)

* I will move to a country I have never lived in and get my first solo apartment

* I will finally get that tattoo I keep going on about… if I have the guts!

* I will learn a new language, Italian probably!

* I am going on a cruise to the Bahamas with BFF Hattie and my California gurls

* I get to meet the Backstreet Boys… again!

* and more… much much more!

Until next time… Smooches to all! xXx

Plates and Plans and Cakes

Have you ever sat at the kitchen table and looked at your plate full of food but thought ‘I’m just not hungry’? well I’ve been doing that every single day for the past few months, of course mine is a metaphorical plate full of plans for life and my lack of hunger represents my inability to commit to something… I think.

I keep making all these plans for life, so far I’m moving to Texas to become a kinder garden teacher, learning French to get a Canadian residency, looking for magazine jobs in Colombia and TV jobs in Bolivia and living in Italy for a year to learn the language. Those all sound like great plans to me, the only problem is they all seem to stay as plans, I can’t do it all but since I don’t know what I want to do then I don’t do any.

It’s hard to figure out what you want out of life but I think I may have figured out my problem, it’s not that I have too many choices or that I want to do them all… it’s that I’m not being selfish. Sounds like a weird conclusion but it’s the truth, it would be a lot easier to decide what I want in my life if I took everybody out of the equation and just thought about myself, but that’s a little difficult since I aim to please.

You see, my mother lives in South America (Colombia for the time being) and as much as I love being with her she also drives me insane (and viceversa) so naturally I want to be close to her (trust me it makes sense in my head). My boyfriend, the man I might spend the rest of my life with, lives in England and is unlikely to ever move anywhere else (for more than a year anyway) and since I’m kind of in love with the guy then I also try to be close to him. My siblings are all based in and around America (mainly Texas) and also make me wish I was close to them. As for the rest of friends and family, you are all scattered around the world, living your lives.

So… my loved ones are my problem because in an attempt to be close to them I am distancing myself from my path (whichever that may be), I can’t please them all, I can’t be in Colombia, the USA and in England at the same time, and I can’t make my life choices based on them because what happens when they are not around? I feel lost. But I am ready to find myself and be a little selfish because at the end of the day I am the only one that knows what I want out of life, I think I know it anyway, I just need to figure it out.

I guess I can’t have my cake and eat it too, and since I am the kind of girl that never leaves a cake behind (metaphorically and literally speaking), I’m just gonna have to take a big bite of that yummy cake of life and see what happens. Cross your fingers and toes for me.

Until next time… Smooches to all! xXx

Baby I'm Addicted...

They say the first step is to admit you have a problem, well, I have a problem, I’m addicted to Sitcoms, and when I say addicted I don’t just mean like them, I actually have withdrawal symptoms waiting a week for the next episode! It all started with F.R.I.E.N.D.S in the 90s and it was just downhill from there (figuratively speaking), I was hooked.

Living in South America I can’t really rely on some channel with a schedule to give me my daily fix so I get my shows online where I can watch them hot out of the American oven. Some of the shows currently bookmarked on my lappie (my laptop’s name) are Greys Anatomy, One Tree Hill, Glee, The Big Bang Theory, Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives, Burn Notice, 90210, Spartacus Blood and Sand and Private Practice... to name a few, and of course there have been those that have come and gone like Ugly Betty, Samantha Who and the recently deceased before its time Two and a Half Men (darn you Charlie!).

Now, with so many shows I usually manage to get my daily dose, however, it’s times like Christmas and Easter that are truly trying since most sitcoms take a month long break, but every cloud has a silver lining and the current slump is how I came to discover my latest addiction: How I Met Your Mother. I admit no program will ever be anything like F.R.I.E.N.D.S but I have to say that HIMYM is a pretty good not so sloppy second and takes me back to the good old days.

Instead of Central Perk we have MacLarens Pub. There are three male leads, Ted Mosby, the hopeless romantic in search of love, like Ross Geller but without the marrying and divorcing, Barney Stinson is the successful, devilish version of Joey Tribbiani, and Marshall Eriksen, the equivalent to Chandler Bing, is the comical and trusty best friend who struggles with his corporate job. The two females in the show are Robin Sherbatsky, the hot brunette with a mess of a romantic life and a tendency to date co-workers Rachel Green style and Lily Aldrin who is not only desperate for a baby but enjoys meddling in her friends lives, very much like Monica Geller but without the OCD (obsessive cleaning disorder). We are only missing a very essential Phoebe Buffay but the two girls do manage to provide many comical moments ‘a la Buffay’.

But if nostalgia for F.R.I.E.N.D.S is not a good enough reason to watch HIMYM, I can personally guarantee the hysterical plot lines and constant appearance of entertaining guest stars like Britney Spears, Enrique Iglesias, Sarah Chalk (Scrubs), Rachel Bilson (The OC), Mandy Moore, Nicole Scherzinger (Pussy Cat Dolls) and the entire repertoire of Victoria's Secret models will be worth your while.

My name is Nena and I am a sitcomholic.

Until next time… Smooches to all! xXx